THE GREENSHANK.
The GREENSHANK (Glottis chloropus) represents a group distinguished by their long, slender, hard beak, which curves decidedly upwards, and their high green feet, which have the toes connected[Pg 47] by a skin. The species we have selected as a type of the rest is the largest of all, being from twelve to thirteen inches long, and from twenty-one and a half to twenty-two inches across the wings. The wing measures seven and the tail three inches. The feathers on the upper portions of the body are black, edged with white; the lower back, rump, and under side are pure white as far as the breast, which is striped and spotted with black; the tail is grey in the centre, and spotted white and black at its sides. During the autumn the head, nape, and sides of the throat are striped greyish-black and white, and the mantle-feathers deep grey, spotted and shafted with black, and edged with white; those on the lower web and crop are striped and shafted with black. The eye is brown, the beak blackish green, and the foot greyish green.
The Greenshank principally inhabits the northern portions of the Eastern Hemisphere, and from thence wanders as far as India, Southern China, and Africa. In Australia these birds are not seen, and it is still doubtful whether they visit the American continent. In some parts of Siberia they are remarkably numerous during the summer months. Such of this species as appear in Central Europe arrive about the end of July, and wander about over the face of the country till August or September, when they commence leaving in order to winter further south. In April and May they return to the north, travelling by night, and only rarely performing even a short part of the journey during the day. The Greenshank is a summer visitor to Great Britain, and is principally seen during its spring and autumnal migrations. "In the Hebrides," says Macgillivray, "it is met with in early spring, and generally departs in October, although I have observed individuals there in November. Previous to the commencement of the breeding season, and after the young are fledged, it resorts to the shores of the sea, frequenting pools of brackish water at the head of the sand-fords, and the shallow margins of bays and creeks. Its habits are very similar to those of the Redshank, with which it associates in autumn. It is extremely shy and vigilant, insomuch that we can very seldom shoot it unless after it has deposited its eggs. Many individuals remain during the summer, when they are to be found by the lakes in the interior; indeed, the number of them in Uist, Harris, and Lewis is astonishing. At that season it is very easily discovered, for when you are perhaps more than a quarter of a mile distant it rises into the air with clamorous cries, alarming all the birds in its neighbourhood, flies round the place of its nest, now wheeling off to a distance, again advancing towards you, and at intervals alighting by the edge of the lake, when it continues its cries, vibrating its body all the while. I once found a nest of this bird in the Island of Harris. It was at a considerable distance from the water, and consisted of a few fragments of heath and some blades of grass, placed in a hollow cavity scraped in the turf, in an exposed place. The nest, in fact, resembled that of the Golden Plover, the Curlew, or the Lapwing. The eggs, placed with their narrow ends together, were four in number, pyriform, larger than those of the Lapwing, and smaller than those of the Golden Plover, equally pointed with the latter, but proportionately broader, and more rounded at the larger end than either."
The high clear cry of this bird has been compared by Yarrell to the sound of the syllables "chio, chio." Insects, larvæ, young frogs, and small fishes are all devoured by the Greenshank; but it is at present undecided as to what may be regarded as its principal means of subsistence, nor are we much better informed concerning its habits during the period of incubation, except that it breeds in the north-eastern portions of the globe, and forms a slight nest of blades of grass, upon a green knoll, usually beneath the shelter of a tree. The four large eggs are deposited in June, and have a pale greenish yellow shell, marked with brownish grey and reddish brown spots of various sizes. The eggs of the Greenshank are regarded as among the greatest rarities of oological collections.
The GODWITS (Limosa) are recognisable by their large powerful body, moderate-sized neck,[Pg 48] and small head. The high slender foot is four-toed, and the wing long and pointed, with the first quill longer than the rest; the short, somewhat rounded tail, is composed of twelve feathers. The smooth thick plumage is of very uniform hue, and varies according to the season of the year. The birds of this sub-family have some resemblance to the Snipes, and also to the Tringæ; but their legs are longer and somewhat stouter in proportion to their size. The chief difference, however, is in the bill, which in birds that as far as regards their haunts are such close neighbours, is the most important. The beak of the Godwits is very long, soft, and flexible; its whole length is rather compressed, and triangular at the base, depressed in the rest of the length, and dilated and obtuse at the tip. It has been described as, "not a snapping bill, nor a boring bill, neither is it a scooping bill, nor a dabbling bill; indeed, it is difficult to find a single epithet descriptive of the function it performs, or rather of the manner in which it performs its functions. It is not shovelling or scooping, for these birds do not remove from its place the sludge and sediment of the water among which they seek their food; and they do not dabble and wash the mud as Ducks do, till they find the substance of which they are in quest. 'Poking' is the nearest epithet, but does not express the action exactly, as they 'try about' and select their food by the sense of touch, and not by sight." These Godwits are more of a wading habit than the Snipes, yet their food is not found in the water, but in the ooze; and if the ooze is soft enough to be penetrated by the bill, the fact of its being with or without a small stratum of water over it is of little consequence. Their food consists chiefly of mud-worms, mud-insects, and mud-larvæ, and the places which they frequent are the localities in which these most abound. The banks of the eddies of slow-running streams, or the accumulation of sludge that is left bare in the estuaries and creeks upon the shores of low rich land, on the ebbing of the tide, and especially the streams of mud from the richer ground into the pools of fens, are the favourite resorts of these birds. They breed in the fens, at a considerable distance inland, if the ground is suitable, but they descend nearer to the sea in winter. In their inland haunts they hide themselves during the heat of the day among the long grass where they have their nests; but when near the sea, their resting-time varies with that at which the tide leaves their feeding-places in the best condition. Godwits run very fast, and make their escape to a considerable distance before taking wing, at which time they utter a very loud, harsh, and somewhat bleating note. These birds were formerly much more common with us than they are now, and were regarded by our forefathers as the daintiest dish in England. They were sometimes valued as high as four nobles the dozen, after they had been fattened for the market on bread and milk.
THE RED OR BAR-TAILED GODWIT.
The RED or BAR-TAILED GODWIT (Limosa rufa) is on the crown and nape of a light rust-red, striped with brown. The feathers on the back and shoulders are black, spotted and edged with rust-red; those of the wing-covers grey with white borders. The rump is white, spotted with brown. The eyebrows, throat, sides of neck, and lower parts of the body are bright, dark rust-red; the sides of the breast and lower tail-covers spotted with black. The quills are black, veined with white; and the tail grey, striped with white. The eye is brown, the beak reddish, tipped with blackish grey, and the foot black. In the plumage of the female all these colours are duller. During the autumn the coat is principally of a greyish shade, the upper portions of the body being grey, spotted with blackish brown; the centre of the beak, rump, and lower tail-covers are white. This species is fifteen inches and a half long and twenty-six broad; the wing measures two inches, and the tail two inches and three-quarters.
Great numbers of these birds visit England both during their spring and autumnal migrations, but they have never been known to breed in our island, though some few remain throughout the winter. In Holland and the level parts of France they are far more common, and are annually killed[Pg 49] in great numbers for the London market. The Red Godwits are usually met with in small parties, and generally occupy the muddy banks of river mouths or the oozy shores of sea inlets, as such spots afford a rich supply of the worms, small molluscs, and aquatic animals upon which they subsist. In April the males acquire their full beauty of plumage, and at once retire as far north as Iceland, Lapland, and Sweden to breed. Upon the wing their movements are powerful, though not very rapid. If disturbed they utter a cry somewhat resembling the bleat of a goat. We are almost entirely without reliable particulars respecting the incubation of this bird.
THE BLACK-WINGED STILT.